''Bàoyìng'' ( zh, c=報應) is a concept of cosmic and moral reciprocity in the

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

. It implies that people dwell in a moral universe, a universe that is kept ordained by

mores Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...

, good actions, thus moral retribution is in fact a cosmic retribution. It determines

fate Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...

, as written in the

Book of Documents The ''Book of Documents'' ( zh, p=Shūjīng, c=書經, w=Shu King) or the ''Classic of History'', is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetorical prose attributed to figures of ancient China, a ...

: "on the doer of good, heaven sends down all blessings, and on the doer of evil, he sends down all calamities." () In

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Daoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

, bàoyìng is equated to the concept of dharmic retribution. The cosmic significance of ''bào yìng'' is better understood exploring other two traditional concepts of fate and meaning: * , the personal destiny, in which is "life" or "right", the given status of life, and defines "circumstance" and "individual choice"; is given and influenced by the transcendent force , that is the same as the " divine right" () of ancient rulers as identified by

Mencius Mencius (孟子, ''Mèngzǐ'', ; ) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting ...

. Personal destiny () is thus perceived as both fixed (the status of life) and flexible, open-ended (the individual choice in matters of ). * , "fateful

coincidence A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances that have no apparent causal connection with one another. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims, or it may lead to b ...

", describing good and bad chances and potential relationships. Scholars K. S. Yang and D. Ho have analysed the psychological advantages of this belief: assigning causality of negative events to beyond personal control, people tend to maintain good relationships, avoid conflict, and promote social harmony; meanwhile, when positive events are seen as result of , personal credit is not directly assigned, and this reduces pride on one side of the relationship and envy and resentment on the other. and are linked, because what appears on the surface to be chance events (for better or worse), are part of the deeper rhythm that shapes personal life based on how destiny is directed. They are ultimately shaped by , good action. Recognising this connection has the result of making a person responsible for his or her actions: doing good for others produces further good for oneself and keeps the world in harmony.Fan, Chen. 2013. pp. 26-27

References

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Sources

* Fan Lizhu, Chen Na.
The Revival of Indigenous Religion in China
'.

Fudan University Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...

, 2013. Concepts in Chinese folk religion Buddhism in China Taoist philosophy

See also

References

Sources